Twinning took off in the 1960s as a way to build peace and understanding between European countries in the post-war period. By offering each other hospitality in their own homes, ordinary people can travel abroad fairly cheaply and, above all, get to know another country’s way of life in some depth, in a way that mere tourist trips cannot achieve. We travel as a group, enjoy a programme of events together while we’re in the twin town, but usually stay in local people’s homes. Language is rarely a problem - either our Continental friends speak English well, or we have great fun making ourselves understood.
Hastings has four European Twins : Dordrecht (The Netherlands), Béthune (France), Schwerte (Germany) and Oudenaarde (Belgium). Hastings Borough Council supports Twinning to an extent that is most unusual in a town of this size, providing a part-time Twinning Officer who co-ordinates twinning activities and is able to give modest grant-aid to groups setting up twinning links with like-minded clubs and associations in the twin towns.
Visit thier website: www.dordrecht.nl
is a most beautiful town, situated where three rivers meet. Behind the old-world façades with their typical Dutch gables lies a thriving commercial city and busy port, with a very lively cultural life. For example, their Steam Festival (every other June) is amazing. While family-to-family exchanges are not as flourishing as they once were, several sports clubs continue to meet annually, and there are strong links between our Town Halls.
An evening view of the town across the water
If you would like to visit Dordrecht - and perhaps to help us re-establish hospitality exchanges - then please contact the Twinning Officer
Visit thier website: www.schwerte.de
lies near Dortmund on the River Ruhr - here a gentle stream flows through green meadows with beautiful views towards the Sauerland hills. It is a town of some 50,000 inhabitants, with a beautiful Old Town with many superb timber-framed houses dating from the 16th century. This exchange is extremely active, with a group of 100-150 twinners of all ages visiting each others’ homes every year. As Schwerte is some 275 miles away, we usually visit our German friends over a Bank Holiday weekend, to give us more time to travel and to enjoy a full programme once we’re there.
For further details about twinning with Schwerte, contact:
George Davies, Chairman of the Hastings-Schwerte Friendship Association, 01424 427047
Visit thier website: www.oudenaarde.be
is steeped in history, and boasts a fine central market place with a superb 16th century town hall. Its commercial base is extremely strong, and our twinning colleagues there are always full of ideas. Oudenaarde has never forgotten Britain’s support for Belgium during the Second World War, and we always visit our friends there for the VE Day celebrations - and include an excursion to a major local attraction, or to one of the many beautiful towns within easy reach, such as Ghent or Brugges. At the moment, we visit Oudenaarde on a yearly basis, while they come to Hastings one year in two.
For further details about twinning with Oudenaarde, contact:
Nigel Barry, Chairman of the Hastings-Oudenaarde, 01424 781396
is the nearest of our 'twins' - a thriving town only an hour inland from Calais, with a distinctly Flemish air to its main square, though in reality Béthune is as French as French can be. Béthune is certainly the easiest of our twin towns for clubs and school-groups to visit for a day, though a longer visit is preferable. We are always warmly welcomed in the homes of our Béthune friends.
For further details about twinning with Béthune, contact:
Ursula Winfield, Secretary of the Hastings-Béthune Twinning Association, 01424 422794.
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Hastings has one other foreign link - with Hastings in Sierra Leone. Though we cannot ‘twin’ in the usual way, the Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link has been set up to provide humanitarian aid to our West African namesake which suffered terribly in the civil war in the 1990s. We hope this will soon develop into a two-way exchange of friendship and understanding at many levels.
A bridges being rebuilt in Hastings, Sierra Leone with money raised entirely by Hastings UK residents
There are many other Hastings all over the globe! Here are links to some of their sites:
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If you would like to know more about Twinning or about the Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link, or to register an interest in one or more of our twin towns, please contact Hastings Borough Council’s Twinning Officer.
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This page last updated: 31/03/2005